life: Death, taxes and the England National team
losing on penalty shootouts.
Down the years, England has produced some quality
squads but they have always failed to live up to the
huge expectations placed on them in the major
football tournaments they've participated in. Since
winning the FIFA World Cup in their turf as far back
as 1966, England has never gone beyond the
quarterfinals.
In the quarterfinal stages, England were ousted by
Uruguay (4-2) in the 1954 World Cup, Brazil (3-1) in
1962, Argentina (2-1) in 1986, Brazil (2-1) in 2002
and Portugal (pens) in 2006. Their record in the
European Championships is equally atrocious, as
they've only managed a third place finish on two
occasions (1968 and 1996), and they have crashed
out of the Group Stages times without number.
However, England has been blessed a long line of
talented players in a series of positions, and Ashley
Cole has manned the left back slot since 2001,
making 105 appearances during this period. Leighton
Baines has been touted as the heir apparent to
Ashley Cole's throne but with the fullback suffering a
rib injury, he's going to miss out on England's crucial
qualifiers against Poland and Montenegro.
In the wake of Ashley Cole's injury, England's
manager, Roy Hodgson, has called up Kieran Gibbs to
replace Cole. Gibbs began his England career with
the Under-19 squad that crashed out of the 2008
Under-19 Euros then he advanced to the England
Under-21 side alongside the likes of Theo Walcott,
Mark Noble, Joe Hart, Adam Johnson and Micah
Richards that finished as runners up in the 2009
Under-21 European Championships.
Gibbs made England debut against Hungary in 2010,
but his countless injury problems of the past have
thwarted potential call ups times without number.
For those that don't know, the 2012/13 was the first
season Kieran Gibbs had over 30 games for Arsenal
in an entire campaign.
He's a player that has become synonymous with
injuries and he showed that yet again this season,
forcing his manager to delve into the transfer market
to sign Nacho Monreal when he nursed a thigh strain
for six weeks.
Gibbs was highly impressive last season and his
output on the final third has drastically improved as
well, with the Englishman having five assists to his
name this season. For a considerable chunk of the
campaign, Gibbs was a mainstay in the team but
when he suffered a lengthy lay off, the manager
signed an experienced Spanish left back, that has
brought stiff competition between both players,
which also brought about stellar performances from
both players, for the good of the team.
He also managed to get some goals and his strike
against Swansea in last season's FA Cup was better
with each passing replay. This season, Gibbs has also
opened his goalscoring account this season with his
strike against Fenerbahce and his stellar
performances this season has seen Monreal
relegated to substitute appearances, but he made his
first start in the Capital One clash with West Brom.
His consistency and quality has been a majot
highlight this season, and he has managed to
balance his defensive and atatcking play superbly.
He recently celebrated his 24th birthday with his
twin, Jaydon, seems like a damn decent young lad,
with a good sense of humility and a dedication to his
profession
With Leighton Baines in fine form this season, he's
more likely to start than Gibbs but many Arsenal fans
wouldn't care, because they would prefer to see
Gibbs back in one piece. A call up is no less than he
deserves and I wish him all the best of luck as he
represents his motherland.
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless handheld from Glo Mobile.
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